Pope John Paul arrived in Slovakia for a four-day visit today but needed help to complete his arrival address as concerns over the pontiff's health continue to mount.
Hundreds of followers gathered under clear autumn skies waving banners - many in his native Polish - with messages of love and peace to greet the 83-year-old Roman Catholic leader as he began his 102nd trip outside Italy.
The pontiff, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and arthritis, has looked exceptionally weak this summer and trembled as he sat through a brief ceremony.
Barely audible and his voice cracking, he was unable to complete his one-page arrival address alone and a Vatican official continued the reading for him.
After several minutes of rest the pope then picked up the reading again and appeared to recognise some of the Church officials he greeted afterwards.
Though a good linguist, the pope has in the past relied on other priests to read parts of speeches in difficult languages. This time the switch appeared to be caused instead by fatigue, as Slovak is similar to his native Polish.
"Although the pope wanted to continue to read, I think it's logical to ease his burden," said Jaoquin Navarro-Valls, chief Vatican spokesman.
When asked if the pope's hectic trip would continue as planned, he said: "Absolutely!"